Coating compositions are utilized to form coatings, such as, for example, primers, basecoats and clearcoats, for protective and decorative purposes. These coatings can be used in automotive OEM and refinish coating applications and provide a protective layer for the underlying substrate and can also have an aesthetically pleasing value. The coating compositions can contain one or more organic solvents or other organic contents, known as volatile organic content (VOC) that may enter the environment.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are compounds of carbon, which can emit into atmosphere and participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions. Many volatile organic compounds are commonly used in industrial products or processes, such as solvents, dispersants, carriers, coating compositions, molding compositions, cleaners, or aerosols. VOCs emitted into the atmosphere, such as those emitted from coating compositions during coating manufacturing, application and curing process, can be related to air pollution impacting air quality, participate in photoreactions with air to form ozone, and contribute to urban smog and global warming.
Efforts have been made to reduce VOC emissions into the air. For example, the coating industry has been trying to develop low VOC coating compositions. VOC exempt organic compounds can also be used to substitute or replace part or all VOCs in some industrial applications, such as coatings. The VOC exempt organic compounds are compounds of carbon and are believed not to participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions to form smog. Examples of VOC exempt compounds can include acetone, methyl acetate, and PCBTF (Oxsol 100). However, production of low VOC products or converting naturally occurring volatile organic compounds into VOC exempt organic compounds can require the consumption of additional materials and energy, which may in turn cause further increase in net output of other materials such as carbon dioxide that has been attributed to global warming.
Therefore, compositions of low VOC emissions are still needed.